How to Choose the Healthiest Dog Food

Choosing the healthiest dog food for your pup can be a daunting task. With so many options available these days, it’s hard to know where to start. But don’t worry! In this article, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know about choosing the healthiest dog food for your pooch.

How to Determine the Best Food for Your Dog

While some websites will give you a list of foods picked by an “expert,” no one food is best for all dogs. It’s better to learn how to determine which food is best for your dog, budget, and lifestyle. Here are some things to consider when choosing a new food for your dog.

Expert Formulations

The healthiest dog foods have been formulated by experts. For example, We Feed Raw’s recipes were all formulated by a PhD animal nutritionist with over 30 years of experience. Can your current kibble company say the same thing?

Excellent Ingredients

The healthiest dog foods have high-quality named-animal meats at the top of their ingredients list and lack generic “meat meals” and low-quality filler ingredients like corn, cellulose, and animal byproducts. What does that look like on an ingredient list?

Here are the ingredients for Ol' Roy Complete Nutrition T-Bone & Bacon Flavor Dry Dog Food:

Ground whole grain corn, meat and bone meal, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), corn gluten meal, natural flavors, salt, potassium chloride, natural t-bone steak flavor, dried bacon fat, and added vitamins and minerals.

Not only is corn the first ingredient, but you don’t know what animal(s) the meat, bones, or fat are coming from. Chicken? Beef? Zebra? Racoon? If they don’t name the animal, dog food companies can use just about anything, including road kill, dead zoo animals, dying or diseased animals, or euthanized pets.

On the other side of the spectrum, let’s check out the ingredients for We Feed Raw’s Beef Patty:

Beef heart, beef liver, beef kidney, beef necks (with bone), and WFR vitamin + mineral mix.

Not only do you know which animal the meat is coming from, you know which parts of the cow are included—and there isn’t a filler ingredient in sight.

Terrific Taste

It doesn’t matter how healthy a dog food is if your pup won’t eat it. While most dogs are conditioned to eat the burnt brown balls of kibble, many dogs are reluctant to eat something that doesn’t resemble actual food. On the other hand, We Feed Raw—made from muscle meat (with associated connective tissue and fat), organ meat, and finely ground bone—closely mimics what dogs have been eating in the wild for their entire existence.

Meets AAFCO Nutrition Standards

AAFCO—otherwise known as The Association of American Feed Control Officials—sets nutritional standards for pets. Dog food companies must provide certain nutrients in order to call their food “complete and balanced” or else indicate that the food is intended to be fed as a supplement rather than a fully balanced diet.

We Feed Raw meets AAFCO’s requirements for a complete and balanced diet for dogs of all life stages, including large-breed puppies (that grow to be 70 pounds or larger as adults).

Check for Recalls

You might be shocked by the names of some of the dog food companies that have been involved in food recalls since 2009 for various reasons, from elevated levels of certain vitamins to salmonella contamination to detectable levels of pentobarbital—which is used to euthanize animals. Some of the most famous companies involved in recalls in the last 5 years include:

• •Purina

• •Spot and Tango

• •Freshpet

• •Nutrisource

• •Fromm

• •Science Diet

• •Hill’s Prescription Diet

• •Merrick

We Feed Raw has NEVER been involved in a recall. We use high-pressure processing (HPP) to neutralize potential pathogens, making our food safe for dogs and the humans who handle their food.

Is Grain-Free Dog Food Bad for Dogs?

The FDA was investigating a potential link between grain-free dog food and an increased risk of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dog breeds not formerly known to be prone to the heart condition. In December 2022, the FDA announced it would not release any further updates unless new information became available. They were unable to prove a link between grain-free diets and DCM.

However, there does seem to be a connection between non-hereditary DCM and foods high in legume seed ingredients, also known as “pulses.” Grain-free and grain-inclusive diets with high levels of pulses were both connected to reports of DCM, so it seems to be an inclusion of pulses rather than the exclusion of grains that is contributing to non-hereditary cases of DCM.

Is Grain-Free Dog Food Good for Dogs?

Some dog foods that are naturally grain-free, such as We Feed Raw, may be good for dogs, while other grain-free diets, such as kibbles that contain high levels of legume seed ingredients, may be bad for dogs. There is absolutely no evidence that dogs NEED grains in their diets, but that doesn’t automatically mean all grain-free dog food is good for dogs.

What Is the Healthiest Dog Food?

There is no one single food that could qualify as the “healthiest” dog food for all dogs since each dog has unique needs. That said, we believe our species-appropriate nutrition—made from muscle meat, organ meat, and finely ground bone, without any filler ingredients—leads the pack in terms of nutrition that most dogs thrive on.

What Is the Healthiest Dog Food for Small Dogs?

Small dogs often have higher metabolic rates than larger dogs and need more protein and calories per pound of body weight. Without a properly formulated diet, they could risk either malnutrition or obesity.

Since We Feed Raw features species-appropriate ingredients based on the prey model raw diet and lacks the fillers required to bind kibble together, it’s an excellent choice for small dogs. Additionally, since we include finely ground raw meaty bones in our nutritionally complete and balanced patties, you don’t need to worry about your small dog accidentally hurting themselves by chewing on large raw bones.

What Is the Healthiest Dog Food for Large Breeds?

Large-breed dogs are more prone to certain joint problems than smaller breeds, so they require diets high in glucosamine and chondroitin to help keep their joints in the best shape possible. 

The connective tissue and finely ground bone in We Feed Raw’s patties provide a natural source of glucosamine and chondroitin, so your pup gets the nutrients they need without needing separate supplements. Check out reviews from real We Feed Raw customers, many of whom have large dogs.

What Is the Best Dog Food for Puppies?

Puppies need high levels of protein and fat in their food to support their growing muscles and bones. While you could choose a puppy-specific food, We Feed Raw meets AAFCO nutrition requirements for dogs of all ages, including large-breed puppies (who will grow to be 70 pounds or larger). Our food is chock-full of protein and fat without any unnecessary filler ingredients, making it an excellent food choice for growing puppies.

What Is the Best Dog Food for Senior Dogs?

Senior dogs need food that’s high in protein and moisture. Since senior dogs may not drink as much water as they used to, feeding them a food with a high moisture content can help prevent kidney problems and other issues related to chronic low-level dehydration they might suffer from not drinking enough water.

Since We Feed Raw isn’t cooked at all, it’s about as moist a dog food as you can find, and it’s certainly high in protein. Additionally, our food is soft enough for dogs with dental problems to eat without issue, so it’s a great choice for senior dogs, even those who have trouble chewing.

What Is the Best Dog Food for Allergies?

Since there is no single cause or type of allergies, there is no single food that is best for all dogs with allergies. That said, choosing a limited-ingredient diet with clearly marked ingredients is an easy way to avoid your dog’s known food allergy triggers.

We Feed Raw offers 6 different proteins with only a handful of main ingredients in each recipe, so you can easily avoid foods you know trigger your pup’s allergies—or determine which proteins they’re allergic to.

What Is the Best Dog Food for Sensitive Stomachs?

It can be tricky to chase down what’s triggering your dog’s vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation, but some of the most common triggers include grains, legumes, potatoes, and artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or other additives.

We Feed Raw contains approximately 80% muscle meat (with associated connective tissue and fat), 10% secreting organs, 10% finely ground bone, and added vitamins and minerals for a complete and balanced diet. That’s it! No potatoes, legumes, grains, fillers, or artificial ingredients that could potentially upset your dog’s digestive system.

What Is the Best Dog Food Delivery Service?

People Magazine, Forbes, Popular Science, and others have named We Feed Raw as the best raw food delivery company in the United States. We make species-appropriate diets based on the way dogs should eat. Since forever.

Take the quiz and get your dog started on We Feed Raw now!